Knockout News and Research

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CALHM1 channel protein releases ATP to make neural taste connections

Saying that the sense of taste is complicated is an understatement, that it is little understood, even more so. Exactly how cells transmit taste information to the brain for three out of the five primary taste types was pretty much a mystery, until now.

7 Mar 2013

CALHM1 protein plays critical role in sweet, bitter and umami taste perception

Working with a multidisciplinary consortium of 19 researchers from nine institutions, Monell scientists have provided critical information to identify CALHM1, a channel in the walls of taste receptor cells, as a necessary component in the process of sweet, bitter, and umami (savory) taste perception.

7 Mar 2013

Synthetic progesterone birth control injections have vulnerability to certain infections: Research

Women who are pregnant or using synthetic progesterone birth control injections have a conspicuous vulnerability to certain infections including malaria, Listeria, HIV, and herpes simplex virus.

2 Mar 2013

Combining synthetic and natural toxins could disarm cancer, drug-resistant bacteria

Cancer researchers from Rice University suggest that a new man-made drug that's already proven effective at killing cancer and drug-resistant bacteria could best deliver its knockout blow when used in combination with drugs made from naturally occurring toxins.

13 Feb 2013

Epithelium able to sense bladder fullness through activity of integrins

If you have an overactive bladder or incontinence, help could be on the way. A new research report published online in the FASEB Journal, shows that the epithelium, a thin layer of cells which line the surface of the bladder, is able to sense how full the bladder is through the action of a family of proteins called integrins.

11 Feb 2013

Scientists identify specific cellular events that appear key to lupus

A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has identified specific cellular events that appear key to lupus, a debilitating autoimmune disease that afflicts tens of millions of people worldwide. The findings suggest that blocking this pathway in lupus-triggering cells could be a potent weapon against the disease.

5 Feb 2013

Scientists discover role of OTUD7B enzyme as TRAF3's protector

Marked for death with molecular tags that act like a homing signal for a cell's protein-destroying machinery, a pivotal enzyme is rescued by another molecule that sweeps the telltale targets off in the nick of time.

21 Jan 2013

PKM-zeta-less adult mice still able to form long-term memories

A study by Johns Hopkins researchers has shown that a widely accepted model of long-term memory formation - that it hinges on a single enzyme in the brain - is flawed. The new study, published in the Jan. 2 issue of Nature, found that mice lacking the enzyme that purportedly builds memory were in fact still able to form long-term memories as well as normal mice could.

4 Jan 2013

Chromatin regulation not governed by a uniform histone code

In a novel use of gene knockout technology, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine tested the same gene inserted into 90 different locations in a yeast chromosome - and discovered that while the inserted gene never altered its surrounding chromatin landscape, differences in that immediate landscape measurably affected gene activity.

4 Jan 2013

Study identifies mechanism by which bacterium S. aureus colonizes nasal passages

A collaboration between researchers at the School of Biochemistry and Immunology and the Department of Microbiology at Trinity College Dublin has identified a mechanism by which the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) colonizes our nasal passages. The study, published today in the Open Access journal PLOS Pathogens, shows for the first time that a protein located on the bacterial surface called clumping factor B (ClfB) has high affinity for the skin protein loricrin.

29 Dec 2012

Scientists identify molecular mechanism central to development of osteoarthritis pain

Researchers at Rush University Medical Center, in collaboration with researchers at Northwestern University, have identified a molecular mechanism central to the development of osteoarthritis (OA) pain, a finding that could have major implications for future treatment of this often-debilitating condition.

28 Dec 2012

Researcher looks at role of TIMP3 protein linked with aortic aneurysms in the abdomen

A researcher with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute is looking closely at a molecule linked to aortic aneurysms in the abdomen, and her findings could lead to a treatment to reduce swelling of the aortic artery, which would be a life-saving treatment.

21 Dec 2012

HHS left with key task of setting up insurance exchange for more than half the states

More than 30 states are opting to not build the insurance marketplaces that are at the center of the health overhaul, so the job will be left to the federal government.

17 Dec 2012

Study illuminates how Aldo and galectin-3 protein contribute to vascular remodeling, CHF

Cardiovascular disease will kill nearly 2.5 million people in the United States this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Over time, inflammation, collagen deposition and scar tissue formation can cause blood vessels to stiffen, a process called vascular fibrosis. Though researchers have known that the hormone aldosterone (Aldo) plays a role in this process, the precise mechanisms have been poorly understood.

17 Nov 2012

Scientists discover first selective inhibitors of DAGL enzymes

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered the first selective inhibitors of an important set of enzymes. The new inhibitors, and chemical probes based on them, now can be used to study the functions of enzymes known as diacylglycerol lipases (DAGL), their products, and the pathways they regulate.

1 Nov 2012

Scientists identify mechanism via Top2b enzyme that drives doxorubicin-induced heart damage

Doxorubicin, a 50-year-old chemotherapy drug still in widespread use against a variety of cancers, has long been known to destroy heart tissue, as well as tumors, in some patients.

29 Oct 2012

Targeted deletion of major VEGF gene in mice induces vision loss

Millions of people with "wet" macular degeneration are prescribed a class of medication known as anti-VEGF drugs. But now scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found that a drastic reduction of VEGF activity may do more harm than good.

26 Oct 2012

CUMC researchers develop first true mouse model of typhoid infection

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have created the first true mouse model of typhoid infection. The development promises to advance the study of typhoid and the creation of new vaccines against the infection, which remains a major health threat in developing countries.

26 Oct 2012

Study confirms Elf5 protein as tumor suppressor of breast cancer

A protein that is necessary for lactation in mammals inhibits the critical cellular transition that is an early indicator of breast cancer and metastasis, according to research conducted at the University at Buffalo and Princeton University and highlighted as the cover paper in November issue of Nature Cell Biology.

25 Oct 2012

Downregulated protein could be revascularization target in critical limb ischemia

Levels of calcium-sensor protein, S100A1, are downregulated in patients with critical limb ischemia, say researchers who believe the protein could be a potential therapeutic target to promote revascularization.

12 Oct 2012